MLS, Miami have miles to go before new club could thrive

The mutually agreed-upon decision by MLS, FC Barcelona and Miami businessman Marcelo Claure to not place in a team in Miami was based on two reasons few could find fault with.

The first, cited Wednesday by Claure and Barcelona, was a dismal economy. The second, cited by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, was not enough fans showed they wanted a team. Of the two, it was the latter that killed the bid. And that, unfortunately, is the worst of the two reasons.

Economies recover and the current listing ship will eventually right itself. As for when South Florida will be enthused enough to rally behind an MLS team, that is likely to take a lot longer. In the meantime, Miami will remain the beautifully dressed mannequin in the shop window when it comes to professional soccer. The outfit looks great from the sidewalk, but doesn't quite fit once you put it on.

"Here you have one of most passionate soccer markets in America," Garber said, "with record World Cup ratings and great interest in the sport overall, but we just have not seen that same interest in our league."

Garber conceded that MLS needs to bring its quality of play closer to the international standard to appeal to a market as sophisticated as South Florida. He's probably right, but that is no consolation to the fans whose loyalties align more with MLS than a league in South America or Europe.

Last November, FC Barcelona and Claure launched a Web site that gave fans a chance to pay a season-ticket deposit or simply register as a supporter. The goal was for Claure to go to the MLS Cup final in Los Angeles with 15,000 registered fans and 5,000 deposits. We never learned how many fans registered or made deposits, probably because there weren't that many.

Attempts to reach Claure last week to ask about the numbers were unsuccessful. But you can be sure that if Claure and Barcelona had reached their targets, they would have told us. And, more importantly, the economy wouldn't look nearly as bad.

Garber noted a lack of "Internet buzz" as evidence that awarding Miami an expansion franchise would be too great a risk. Barcelona and Claure must have concurred. Barca had signed onto the Miami bid to expand its pristine, global brand. A failed team in Miami would have sullied the club's good name. Claure was going to pay the entire $40 million expansion fee and the thought of seeing it disappear had a sobering effect on his ambitions.

Ever since the Fusion folded after the 2001 season, there's been an abiding sense that MLS would return to South Florida to resume a relationship that ended prematurely. Last week showed us that the relationship remains dysfunctional. Even so, Garber still sees a silver lining in a very dark cloud.

"I am convinced this league will continue to grow and prosper," Garber said. "And at some point we will be a league that will have many more teams than we do now, and one of those teams will be in Miami."

Just not anytime soon.

Miami FC next?

Miami could lose its existing pro team, Miami FC, as early as this week. "At the end of the day, it's no different today than yesterday," Miami FC President Aaron Davidson said after learning of the failed MLS bid. "We always felt we would be part of whatever solution to pro soccer there was in Miami. But the reality still exists: Does the community want a team?"

The USL club set a goal of selling 5,000 season tickets for 2009 by today, but is more than 4,000 short. To drum up support, the Blues and the Miami Ultras Supporters Club organized a 24-hour Soccer-A-Thon that began at 6 p.m. Saturday and will continue until 6 tonight at Pace High School, 15600 NW 32nd Ave., Miami Gardens.